University of North Carolina Athletics
Road Hog: Life In The NFL
November 1, 2013 | Football
NOTE: This story originally appeared in CAROLINA: The Magazine.
by Mike Ingersoll
I have been asked, per my editor and various reader requests, to take a column and write a little bit more about myself. Specifically, my experiences at the pro level, the Carolina connections in the League, and so forth. Talking about myself isn't exactly something I'm very good at, but I'll do my best to keep it interesting.
The Carolina connection in the pros is very real-there are a lot of us there. It seemed no matter where I went, there was always someone with a link to Chapel Hill, whether it be a coach, teammate, or just someone in the front office.
Coaches would affectionately call me "Tar Heel" from time-to-time at practice. In my first game my rookie year in Kansas City, I lined up against E.J. Wilson, who was playing his first game at defensive tackle for Tampa Bay. We lined up across from each other and went at it every snap in practice my junior year, so it was like old times.
A couple games later, Robert Quinn and I were on the field together and we even exchanged some helmet paint once or twice (he was beating our left tackle pretty bad, I had to help him out!).
In New England, I was able to forge a friendship with Jesse Holley. We played together at Carolina, but I was a freshman when he was a senior, so we didn't have much interaction. Our time in New England allowed us to get to know each other better, and we stuck together as we were the only Tar Heels there.
While in Tampa, I was able to play alongside my really good friends E.J. and Connor Barth and my old roommate Zack Pianalto, which made the transition to the new team easier. When we played the Cowboys, Zack and Bruce Carter went head-to-head on kickoffs and the three of us met at midfield after the game and caught up. We did the same with old teammates in Atlanta when we played the Falcons.
After the coaching change in Tampa, we brought in Wallace Wright, Hilee Taylor, Brooks Foster, Jordan Nix, and Jon Smith, totaling eight Tar Heels in the locker room. I also realized the friend I had in Butch Davis, who was also down there as a consultant-type for Greg Schiano. He looked out for me and the other guys as best he could, which is a rarity in the NFL. I'll always appreciate the relationship I have with him, especially from Tampa.
I spent a few games in Canada recently, as well. While up there playing for Hamilton, I saw the Carolina connection north of the border, too. When we played Montreal, I watched Kendric Burney lock down some of our receivers like old times on the outside, and a possession later, saw Wallace Wright catch one on the sideline and take it about 25 yards before our safety could get over there.
I watched film on Darian Durant and realized why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the CFL. I also learned that in Saskatchewan there is a "Durant Edition" Ford F150, and it's a lot like the King Ranch Edition. How awesome is that?
I met and talked with Earl "The Pearl" Winfield (UNC '85), the CFL's all-time leader in career kick return touchdowns, in the locker room before a game. He went out of his way to come talk to me, and I was honored.
I decided, however, that Canada was not where I wanted to be. I wasn't happy and decided it was best for me to come home, especially because my family needed me back here for various reasons. Canada was an experience, but I consider my time in the NFL to be my pro career.
Now as far as playing, there isn't much for me to talk about. I had the distinct pleasure to play alongside great players like Thomas Jones, Dwayne Bowe, Vincent Jackson, Wes Welker, and Rob Gronkowski. I was honored to sit most days and eat lunch with Ronde Barber in Tampa and pick his brain from his near-20 year career.
I shared a huddle with and took plays from Tom Brady, then went back to the locker room where my locker was right next to his and joked around with him. I was fortunate enough to learn from All-Pro Davin Joseph in Tampa and train with LeCharles Bentley, two of the best offensive guards I have ever seen play the game.
While in Kansas City, I saw the savvy of 6-foot-2, 280-pound center Casey Wiegman, a 16-year veteran out of Iowa, block A.J. Hawk with nothing but head fakes as he ran him out of bounds on outside zone, never once actually touching him.
I became good friends with guys like Rodney Hudson from Florida State, Cody Grimm from Virginia Tech, Frank Okam from Texas, Danny Woodhead, and Jeremy Trueblood, just to name a few. Josh Freeman and I would ride in his yellow Ferrari on weekends to beach parties out at St. Pete Beach, and yes, it was awesome.
One of the best people I've met and one of the most loyal friends I've ever had played at South Carolina-Jamon Merideth-and it was a friendship we formed with no shortage of smack-talk, especially since our lockers were right next to each other's in Tampa. I became friends with guys I'd played against, like Allen Bailey (a DE from Miami) and Steven Friday (DE from Virginia Tech). I gave up a sack to only one guy my senior year, and it was Allen, so it felt good to get a little payback on him in practice out in Kansas City every now and again.
I blocked players like Gerald McCoy, Albert Haynesworth, Terrell Suggs, and Vince Wilfork (Haynesworth and Wilfork are maybe the two strongest men I've ever played against). I watched game film on Ray Lewis in preparation for our game against Baltimore and I saw, and could break down, absolute greatness. For every play he would mis-diagnose, there would be two more that he would read correctly and smack the running back right in the chin. And I swear, every tackle Ray made resulted in a forced fumble. It was incredible.
